Restless Nights
by FancyCrayon
Summary: A background on the Pevensies' life (particularly Susan's) just before Narnia (also goes into Narnia)
1. Chapter 1

Thwack!

I grinned as I heard the sound of the ball flying off my bat. I sprinted past the bowler to the other end of the pitch just as my ball landed in the high grass. My teammates cheered as they ran towards me. It was unbelievably hot, yet all of us still had the energy to get an ice-cream. We all said goodnight, calling to one another that we would be seeing one another tomorrow. However, it wasn't for another fun afternoon of cricket; tomorrow being the second day of September, it was the first day of school. I turned to walk home, as smiled at the person beside me. Living in the same neighborhood, Michael Clark and I always walked home together, and had been best friends since before I could remember.

"Great hits tonight," he complimented me and he brushed his sandy hair out of his eyes.

"Well thanks, you aren't too shabby yourself," I replied.

We walked a while without saying anything, but Michael broke the silence.

"I don't want to go back to school," he sighed.

I said, "Neither do I... First off, you'll need a haircut. And I want to swim more and play more cricket, eat ice-cream, and-"

"It's not that," he cut me off, " I just don't want to do anymore current event reports."

The smiled faded from my face. We had been at war for almost exactly a year, though, it didn't seem like it. There was rationing, yes. That is why we saved up for one treat before the school year. The only true difference you could see were the air raid sirens, war posters hung around London, and the lack of men. So many men were gone; brothers, fathers, uncles, husbands, sons, cousins; including both of your dads. All off fighting a war because a man from Germany was building an empire. Life seemed almost usual at home, with my two brothers always arguing. I knew Michael was right; the current events did become dull after a week. Not just dull, but down right depressing.

I said goodnight to Michael as I opened the gate to our house's yard. I heard my mother humming a tune. She turned, looked at me, and sighed.

"I suppose I will have to wash that skirt again," she said disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry... I did have a good game though!" I beamed.

"Well in my opinion, you shouldn't be playing cricket. You should be acting more like a young lady, after all, you are sixteen."

I spoke dramatically, "Oh! I shall never play a game of cricket again!"

"I'm sure you won't keep that promise," she replied as she bent over to pick more tomatoes.

"No, most likely not," I said, as I gave her a hug and ran inside to wash up for supper.


	2. Chapter 2

I was lost deep in my thoughts, chewing my carrots when I heard my mother's voice.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, and I felt my siblings eyes on me as well.

"Oh, just school," I replied honestly.  
>My brother Edmund spoke up in an annoying, sing-songy voice, "I bet that she's thinking about Michael". And once again not my mother, but my other brother stepped in to scold him. And once again they had a row, so I ignored it.<p>

I was thinking about school, but other things as well. Would we focus mainly on current events, or try to keep our mind off the war? During cricket, someone said that they might cancel school because of the war. I highly doubted that; it was too good to be true. I smiled, just thinking of cricket. I looked up to talk about the game, but only saw an empty chair across from me; my father hadn't sat there in a year. Somewhere off fighting I supposed.

My mother must have seen the sad expression on my face and must have read my thoughts.

"Thinking of dad?"

I nodded my head, trying to keep the tears back. Oh why was I crying!? I forced myself to take a deep breath. Not at the dinner table I told myself. I shoveled the last of my carrots into my mouth and swallowed as soon as I could

"Mum, may I be excused?"

She nodded, "Yes, dear. Put your dishes in the sink please."

I hurried to my room and closed the door. I checked to see that everything was ready for tomorrow. From my new cardie to my schoolbooks (my uniform was crisp and neat as usual). I sighed: another year of high school. I heard my mother turn on the radio in the parlour and I groaned. It seemed like the radio was constantly on, and all my mother listened to was news of the war. I preferred music due to the fact that I loved dancing. I was in no mood for dancing though, so I took a bath and climbed into bed. I read for a while, but then turned out the lights; afterall, it was a school night.


	3. Chapter 3

My dad's old alarm clock woke me in the morning. I dressed and hurried to the kitchen for a piece of toast with jam. I ate quickly so Michael wouldn't have to wait for me.

"Slow down! Chew!," my mum told me.

I set the toast down and looked up at her, "Sorry."

"Excited for your first day then?" she inquired.

I shrugged, "Not really, how different can it be from last year and the year before? Besides, I don't want to have Michael waiting for me and I don't want to walk with Peter to school," I said, seconds before I finished the rest of my toast.

She nodded understandingly and took my empty cup and plate. I gave her a hug and called goodbye as I grabbed my rucksack and sprinted out the door and down the stairs. I found Michael waiting in the usual spot, at the corner of our street. We walked at brisk pace, not wanting to be late on the first day. Not much was said, only small talk about the weather and cricket. By the time we reached school many other boys and girls were there. We both found our groups of friends, promising to meet one another in the usual place after classes.

I had dreadfully boring classes taught by a dreadfully boring teachers, especially math. However, one class was delightful, World Studies. Mrs. O'Lock promised not to assign any current event reports as long as we all took part in class discussions (we were all relieved at that). Once the final classes were dismissed Michael and I walked home, having more to talk about this trip. Once we were in front of my house I said goodbye and went inside. After telling my mum about my first day,including Clara's 'interesting' hair style, I started on my homework. I finished just as the clock struck 7, so I turned on the radio. I found a broadcast with plenty of music, so I danced; even the snickers of my younger brother couldn't stop me. At 8 I decided to go to bed, so I switched the radio off, and fell asleep.  
>The week went by like any other school week, dull and uneventful, apart from more of Clara's up-do's. As I sat down for breakfast on Friday my mother had some news for me.<p>

"Mrs. Elliot asked if you might babysit tomorrow afternoon, and I told her you would. She and I were going to go to Mrs. Peirce's place and have a cuppa and a chat. Is that alright with you?"

The Elliots had two daughters and a son: the girls 7 and 4, and the boy 1 year old. They lived across the Thames in a little house, and Mr. Elliot had just left for a coastal base with the RAF.  
>"Of course it's alright," I laughed, "not really like I have a choice."<p>

"No indeed," said my mother, as I rushed out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Once school on Friday was dismissed, we went to the park to play cricket. Some of the boys begged me to play, but I had to say "no". My mum might literally murder me if I got dirt on my school uniform. It was a slow game, part of it due to the fact that the temperature was somewhere around 33 degrees Celsius. Before we parted our separate ways, many of the girls, including myself, made plans to play tennis in the morning.**

**I opened the door to our house to find it dark and quiet. I flicked on the lamp and found a note on the table:  
><strong> _Gone out to the store, be back soon! Mum_

**Satisfied, I turned on the radio, and by chance there was good dance music. There were a couple fast dances, then a slow one. I was doing a basic waltz when my older brother walked in; he startled me when he laughed.**

"**Shall I fetch Michael to come practice with you?" he teased.  
>I hoped that the dim light hid my blush. I certainly didn't like Michael as more than a friend, and I most surely didn't need him thinking I did.<strong>

"**No, Peter," I answered, "I already ask too many favors of Michael as it is. I think I will go to bed now, I'm going to play some tennis tomorrow morning. Goodnight..."**

**I woke up early, used to waking up for school. I set my alarm for another hour, 7 o'clock, so that we could play tennis before the heat of the day. The bell started to ring, and in my clumsy attempt to silence my alarm, I knocked it off my nightside-table. I was up and put on my playing clothes, the ones my mother barely allows me to get dirty. I grabbed my racket and the two tennis balls I had, and hurried to the kitchen. My mother was already up and had oatmeal waiting for me. Still piping hot, I took a long drink of cool milk with it; I cleared my place and put on my shoes. They were brand new saddle shoes my Aunt Charlotte had sent for my birthday. They were white with blue sides, popular in America where they lived. I shouted a jolly 'cheerio!' to my mum and sister as I hurried out the door to meet my friends.**

**I had a good match, along with my friends Carol, Lorie, and Alice. We played doubles and we ended up tying. Since none of us could remember how to play a tiebreaker, we called it a draw. It was probably for the best because it was starting to get warm again, it would probably be another sweltering day like yesterday. We all decided to go back to our homes and have a nap. This was most likely for the best because I was going to be babysitting tonight and would need lots of energy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**My alarm went off at half two, I got up and put on fresh clothes; my mum always wanted me to look sophisticated for babysitting. The Elliots lived on the lower east side of London, towards the Surrey docks. So my mum and I took the Underground and found their little house; they had a small yard, but it was cozy. I stood patiently as Mrs. Elliot left me directions; only this time she added specific ones about air raids. With all the close calls and false alarms this summer, Mrs. Elliot's husband and brother-in-law had built a small air raid shelter in the back yard before Mr. Elliot had gone off to fight. At about a quarter past 3 my mum and Mrs. Elliot left for Mrs. Pierce's house, which left me to play 'doctor' and 'cook' with the children. We had a snack around 4:30, and started playing 'doctor' for the third time when the sirens went off. I stood up quickly, the fake gauze and bandages falling off of me. I told each of the girls to grab a torch and head to the shelter while I got the baby up from his nap.**

**I rushed outside with the baby and a blanket, as well as a loaf of bread. I reached the air shelter, but behind be I heard a whistling, rushing sound. I set the baby in an old apple crate next to his sisters. I slammed the door shut just as the bomb exploded, the whole ground shaking with a tremendous 'BOOM'. All three of the children were crying now and very scared. I sat with them and got them to calm down a little, though, I was scared myself. Around half past 6 I heard the all-clear and we left the shelter. When we looked up we were speechless, the house next door had taken a direct hit. The Elliot's house had some fire damage, but not much. We stood in stunned silence and stared at the damage around us until we heard Mrs. Elliot call out our names.**

"**Sarah! Emma! Jimmy!" shouted Mrs. Elliot**

"**Muuuummmmmyyyyy," cried the girls simultaneously.**

**I put the baby in Mrs. Elliot's arms and once inside, she insisted on paying me. I refused and told her she should keep it to help pay for any damage to the house. My mother and I crossed the river back home, and all we could see was black and orange. The Surrey docks had been destroyed and were in flames. My siblings awaited anxiously, and I was practically suffocated by the hug from my sister and we all sat together in front of the radio.**

"**I'm so glad you're ok," she said.**

"**Me too..." I replied, but we started to listen to the news reports coming in.**

"_I'm on top of a very tall building right now, for those of you tuning in. I'm near Portland, and I'm looking towards the Surrey docks right now. If it weren't so horrible, I would call this sight magnificent. The horizon is black and in an orange glow. Firefighters are still attempting to put out the flames or at least contain them..."_

**Just then there was a knock at the door. I stood up to answer and crossed to the door, I opened it to see Michael. **

"**Hey, can I talk to you?" he asked breathlessly.**

"**Yeah, sure thing." I smiled at my family and closed the door behind me. We walked down out into the yard where I absent mindedly deadheaded Mr. Bellman's geraniums while I attempted to answer endless of questions.**

"**You were at the Elliot's right? Were there bombs? It's near the docks, right? Was is loud? How much time did you have? Were you scared? Could you see the smoke?"**

"**Yes I was there! There **_**were **_**bombs, obviously! Yes it's near the docks, there was lots of smoke and noise and shaking and yes! I **_**was **_**scared!" I shouted at him, and I couldn't even see his reaction due to the tears in my eyes. **

**He turned around and scratched his arm awkwardly. "Gee, I'm sorry... I just... I... I'll see you later then..." **

"**Michael, wait!" I shouted, but he kept walking. I stood up and ran as fast as I could. I caught up to him and grabbed his sleeve. "I'm really sorry, I just... oh I don't know, I was scared."**

**But what happened next was even scarier.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Michael gave me a kiss on the cheek.**

**We had been best friends since we were toddlers, but this was different. The last time I could remember us hugging was when we were about 11 or 12, at his grandfather's funeral. It had felt awkward and sad. This felt like an apology, as if to say, "I'm here to support you". **

**I exhaled, a deep shuddering breath. **

**Michael smiled at me. "I'm the one who should be sorry, I asked too many questions without asking if I could."**

"**It's alright, really," I replied, returning the smile.**

**He looked at his watch. "Well, it's a quarter 'til 8, and I bet you haven't eaten anything."  
><strong>"**No, I guess I'll go on a pantry raid then." I kicked a rock with my brown loafers, and watched as it scuttled across the pavement. **

"**I'll talk to you later then?" he asked.**

"**Yeah, how about tomorrow after church?" **

"**Sounds good to me! Goodnight." **

**I turned back through our yard's gate and shut it. I turned to watch my best friend walk back to his house. I let out a sigh, and heard my stomach, so I went inside for some supper. **


End file.
